Frisian languages

group of Germanic languages

Frisian refers to three languages that come from Friesland, a province in the Netherlands. They are spoken in the Netherlands, in Eastern Germany, and in some areas of Jutland, Denmark. It is also spoken on the Frisian Isles (Wadden Isles) and Western German (East Frisian) Isles such as Borkum.

Frisian
Frysk
Bilingual sign in German and North Frisian, respectively, in Husum, Germany
Native toNetherlands, Germany
RegionFriesland, Groningen, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein
EthnicityFrisians
Native speakers
480,000 (ca. 2001 census)[1]
Early forms
Dialects
Latin
Official status
Official language in
Netherlands
Germany
Regulated byNL: Fryske Akademy
D: no official regulation
unofficial: the Seelter Buund (for Sater Frisian), the Nordfriisk Instituut (for North Frisian)
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
fry – West Frisian
frr – North Frisian
stq – Saterland Frisian
Glottologfris1239
Linguasphere52-ACA
Present-day distribution of the Frisian languages in Europe:
Frisian speakers

They are West Germanic languages that are related to Dutch and are also the closest living languages to English. All of them have been spoken since Roman times.

The Frisian languages are:


Frisian languages comparison
language wordlist
English one two three four five six seven eight nine ten
West Frisian ien twa trije fjouwer fiif seis sân aacht njoggen tsien
North Frisian ian tau trii fjauer fiiw  sääks sööwen aacht  njugen tiin
Saterland Frisian aan two trio fjauer fieuw  sääks soogen oachte njuugen tjoon


English West Frisian Sarerland Frisian North Frisian
Flensburg Flensburch Flensbuurich Flensborag


References

change
  1. West Frisian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    North Frisian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Saterland Frisian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)